Just Between Guardians
by levy120
Summary: Mulan gets caught in the crossfire of a vendetta between Mushu and Shan-Yu's Falcon. Takes place after Mulan 2; No previous knowledge needed.
1. Prologue: Through the eyes of a villain

_Special thanks to Bao Li Na and Nori for Betareading. It was awesome working with you =)_

_Fanfiction presented by The Ancestors' Temple_

* * *

**Prologue: Through the eyes of a villain**

Explosion  
Fireworks  
Everything burned  
Everyone cheered.

The bird gawked unbelievingly at the sight that was displaying in front of him.  
-

The masses cheered.  
He could still hear them.  
Blowing him away with a rocket.  
What an idea.  
He still was alive since the heavy blow had only slung him away.  
He had lots of burns though.

He had lost his vision but he could hear something running.  
His falcon.  
Why was it running?

It finally arrived, staring at Shan-Yu.  
It revolved its master.  
One time.  
Two times.  
It motivated him to stand up again.  
But he couldn't.  
It revolved its guarded one.  
One time.  
Two times.  
Stand up you freak.

The man's hand moved towards the animal, weakly patting it on the still burned back. Trembling, the falcon lay down next to the once most feared man in China. Listening to the snatches of his fading voice, the bird closed its eyes.

It perked up as the revived cheering drowned his master's words. Slipping out from under the conqueror's hands, it snarled at the remaining sound in the air until it had faded away.

Silence.  
"I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan."  
Fa Mulan… was that the guy?  
After quite a listing the Emperor finally came to the point that mattered.  
"…destroyed my palace, AND... you have saved us all."  
It was the guy.  
The falcon looked back at Shan-Yu.  
He was a strong man, but one could easily tell that the Hun was in pain right now.  
And he would die soon.

The bird lifted his head, looking up at the sky.  
He would avenge his master.  
He would get that soldier. And that little lizard, that kept him from protecting Shan-Yu.  
That little lizard, that kept him from carrying out his duty.  
They would pay.

The plucked bird started to shiver for a moment, before his entire plumage appeared again, carrying it through the night as the falcon lifted itself from the ground.  
They would pay.  
Both of them.

Left alone Shan-Yu could only listen to the sound of wings as his solely remaining comrade faded away in the smoke of the fireworks.


	2. Chapter 1: Just another one to go

Mushu never thought of death as a great thing.  
Neither did he think of it as something sad or tragic.  
It broke humans, it simply broke them.  
To him it wasn't anything else than just another one to go and just another one to come.  
Just another ghost to put up with for the rest of his life.  
Because once entered the afterlife, one didn't change one's occupation anymore - you were simply dead. End of story.  
And it was getting kind of full in the Ancestors' Temple…  
The little dragon never thought that his point of view on the issue of death would ever change.  
It was the day Fa Zhou had died.  
Just another one to go – just another one to come.

***

**Chapter 1: Just another one to go**

Mulan was sitting in front of the lifeless body, hands still in praying position, but shaking violently. She fought the tears away.  
"There is no reason to," Mushu assured her, as he sat on a table nearby watching his broken little girl.  
"Yes, yes there is," she said not being able to hold them back anymore.  
The little dragon shook his head, jumped off the table and walked over to the two.  
"There is absolutely no reason to cry, trust me."  
The young heroine swallowed hard as she listened to her guardian.  
"Mushu, leave me alone."  
"Now, now… why I should I do that?" he asked, sounding more comforting than he did all the while they had been in this room now.  
"I'm serious," she glared at him.  
She glared. Okay, that hurt.  
"So you don't want me here."  
"Not now, so if you mind…" she turned around again, giving him the cold shoulder, "I'd like to have a few words with my father…"  
"Geez, Mulan – He's dead!" Mushu stated and then scratched his chest scales a little, "I could mime the interpreter though, if you want to."  
"Just go," she barely whispered with a choke, a great amount of tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"You know, maybe this wasn't quite the right time," Cri-kee chirped as he hopped beside the dragon into the yard, "it's a pretty dark hour for Mulan."  
"Dark, hip or hop. It's swings and roundabouts."  
The little bug tilted its head to the side.  
"What do you mean?"  
Mushu shrugged, "I mean," he emphasized, "that Mulan will be glad about the time he's gone once she has him around in the rest of her afterlife."  
"No wonder she wanted you out - How can you be so cold?" Cri-kee scolded, glaring up at the little dragon.  
Oh, so he was glaring now as well. This just became better and better.  
"You know what? Give it a rest!"  
And with this, Mushu headed for the temple, his pace straight and fast.

If the dragon hadn't known better he would have guessed that Mulan didn't want him around for he was annoying her.  
True, he had been kind of… well, how should he put it? Clingy… lately. But he had had his reasons after all. No one was clingy for nothing. And as for Mushu, he had gotten company. Not the nice henchman _I-do-whatever-you-say company_. No, the evil company. Evil _oh-I-am-so-much-better-than-you-and-I-will-take-over-your-job_ company.

Mushu walked into the temple, passing certain ancestors and crawled up the wall, heading straight for his pedestal. Well, his side of the pedestal. The left side, if you looked up from below and the right if he looked back from up above.  
All of this was due to Shang, Mulan's now-husband and promoted general. He had been so kind to combine the family temples so that Mushu got to keep his pedestal after they had married. The little dragon had had no idea that this would result in him having to actually share his pedestal. And it didn't help that his pedestal-mate was a freaking space-invader.  
Mushu had tried to get as much space as possible, but that little intruder ended up getting more, for he was slightly bigger than the dragon. One Millimeter less and he'd fall off the edge.  
Not that Mushu would mind that…  
He'd actually enjoy…  
Very much so…

So now that the new one wasn't here Mushu had all the precious room for himself. He leaned back watching the ceiling of the temple but still couldn't get the sought relaxation, for Mulan's words kept ringing in his head.  
"_Just go."_  
She had no idea how this felt. In fact, she had no idea what she'd said at all. He was pretty sure of that, after all she'd just been upset. Humans tend to do things when they're angry they would never do when they were well… normal.  
"_Just go."_  
All he could now hope for was that the Ancestors wouldn't take it as an official rejection. It was no rejection. At last he wished to believe so.  
The little dragon had been ignoring the ghosts so far, until one of them tipped him on his shoulder, clearing its throat.  
"How…" he began a conversation, hesitating, "does she handle it?"  
Mushu blinked at the unfamiliar voice.

Fa Zhou.

"The others told me about you, so…"  
"Oh…" Mushu chuckled nervously, "What DID they tell you about me?"  
"How is Mulan?" The figure of the old man repeated his question.  
Mushu slumped down sighing.  
"She's crying," the dragon answered, simple and beaten.  
"Oh, I expected that…" Zhou admitted.  
"She would like to talk to you."  
"Can you give her a message from me?" the ghost asked at this answer, hope rising in his voice.  
Mushu now turned back to look at the ghost again. He hesitated for a moment.  
"I'm afraid I can't. She's… ehm… well… kinda… sorta… mad at me."  
He put up a sheepish grin to brighten the moment a little, but failed - Zhou's specter turned away musing.  
"I think she deserves a little alone time," Mushu then added even if it made him feel like a hypocrite, but he also needed to make a good first impression for whatever crap the ancestors might have already told the new one about him.

"Yeah, as if you cared," a voice hollered from below, causing Mushu to jump to his feet immediately. The face of a beheaded ghost was raising a brow at the dragon, the plasmatic skull placed in the swale of his crossed arms. Mushu furrowed his brow at the scepter threateningly. That guy could blow everything – if he hadn't already. Stiffening, the guardian crossed his arms behind the back. After remaining like this for a while, he moved out his right hand to clear his throat.  
"May I introduce, Fa Deng." the dragon then played off with a slight hiss towards the more familiar ghost, "He's a former guarded one of mine."  
Dragon's out of the bag.  
"Unluckily," Deng added, earning a new glare by the guardian.  
The latter one didn't like the silence as Fa Zhou surveyed his ancestor. Behind his back Mushu had unwillingly started to twiddle his fingers.  
"How did that happen?" Fa Zhou finally asked in a tune Mushu couldn't interpret, but he could care less.  
"It was an accident!" the dragon then blurted out, not even giving Deng a chance to respond.  
"It was not!" the ghost protested, now angered up.  
"Oh yeah?" was all Mushu could think of to say.  
"You corrupted my horse!"  
"Right, I did," the dragon defied with a sarcastic laugh, rolling his eyes, while Zhou backed a few inches away, just to be safe. Deng now pointed at the little dragon, holding his head in the left hand.  
"I could have died an honorable death, if you hadn't talked my horse into leaving the battlefield!"  
Mushu mockingly jerked his head, imitating the ghost's whine. He then turned away from him, muttering under his breath:  
"It could have saved your live."  
"Well, it didn't!"  
Mushu shot a glare over to Fa Zhou who flinched away as if he got busted. Remaining silent Mushu then let himself down from the ledge of his pedestal. Landing on the ground with a thud, he stood up and without turning to look back at the ghosts he murmured a settling "S'cuse me" and left.

After having her requested alone time, Mulan decided to get some fresh air. She needed some distraction now. Standing in the doorway the young woman noticed that it had started to snow, so she dressed a little warmer and then left the house, heading for the pond. It was starting to freeze. Sighing Mulan sat down on the little bench that was standing under the bare-branched magnolia tree. Winter had taken its will to life. Winter always took away the life, but the snow had something beautiful to it as well. Not exactly if it came rolling down on you as an avalanche, but this was the simple winter snow – and it was glittering in the sunlight.  
Anyway Mulan didn't feel like staying where she was right now anymore. This place only made well up more memories of how her father would comfort her after the failed Matchmakers test, how he hugged her when she returned home… This had been their place of consolation. She wiped the first tear from her eyes before she would allow herself to cry again and stared into the distance.

In times like this Mulan used to search for solace under the shielding of the great stone dragon who now was no more.  
It had offered her protection.  
And it had been so much more sentient than Mushu.  
She had to admit that him being around right now would probably bring her to other thoughts. She just didn't want to go and look for him. She knew where he was, she knew that she would find him in the Ancestors' Temple. But right now, this was the last place Mulan wanted to visit.

As luck would have it she didn't need to go there anymore, for the little dragon was literally fighting his way through the snow and passed the bench Mulan was sitting on. He looked rather grumpy, probably because of all the sudden white stuff and the cold. Speak of mood swings.

"Mushu…"  
The little dragon looked up at her for a moment and then continued his way through the snow. He looked so small and lost in it. Mulan watched her little friend helplessly.  
"Don't worry," he said, putting his right claw up as he slipped past her, "I go, I go…" he continued, slumping into a casual mumbling.  
"Mushu, wait…"  
The dragon held up, staring daggers of expectation back at her. Mulan fell silent and lowered her hand again.  
"You wanted alone-time," he said in a cold tone she wasn't used to know from him, "I give you alone time."  
"Would you just listen?" Mulan snapped.  
"No, you listen!" the little guardian spun around, "You'd be so totally dead without me, so if that stupid little lizard wasn't there you could be seeing your daddy now, huh? How's that? Wouldn't you prefer it like that right now?"  
This kind of argument set Mulan off.  
"Pretty boy would have found out that you're a girl if I hadn't suggested you your cover-name. You wouldn't even have had the chance to save his sorry butt back then, so unlikely that you're married to that loser now, when he could have wound up killing you."  
"You don't even know what you're talking about," Mulan tried to stop the little guy.  
"I do, missy, I do… first you pout at me, then Deng pouts at me, I hear you - and now you're gonna spare ME a little alone time, just to make things clear." And after all, it was her in first place who had wanted him gone.  
He shook the flakes off of his scales and left without another word.  
"Fine!" Mulan yelled after him as she found the already tiny footsteps of the dragon fading away in the fresh snow.  
"Fine..." she said to herself, swallowing the lump in her throat as she realized that what the dragon had just said was true.

After what had felt like a day, Cri-kee joined Mushu, who was sitting in front of the gate, leaning against the wall.  
"You should go back to the temple," the dragon snarled, "otherwise you'll just freeze away."  
But the bug refused to listen and instead jumped onto Mushu's belly. The dragon's torso was naturally warm, no matter how cold it was.  
The guardian gave the cricket a glare before he snapped it away, the little bug though would always come back, so after a while Mushu just gave in.  
Cri-kee had just made himself comfortable, when the dragon began to speak.  
"It's not my fault ol' Zhou is dead," he murmured, raising the cricket by its armpits, like you would hold a puppy.  
The bug gave him a pitying look and Mushu placed his friend into his lap again.  
"I'm only responsible for Mulan, you see."  
Climbing up half of Mushu's belly, the cricket chirped comfortingly and earned a weak patting on its head.  
"And I'm doing a good job, Cri-kee."

A shadow shifted itself in a nearby tree.


	3. Chapter 2: Sorrow's bonding

**Chapter 2: Sorrow's bonding**

_Everyone was gone. Her dad was gone, Little Brother wasn't to be found, Shang had left for the imperial city, and now even Mushu wanted alone-time. Right now, Mulan didn't feel alone, but lonely - which wasn't the result she had been going for. _

When Shang arrived back from his journey Mulan greeted him with the bad news. Fa Zhou's death had been sudden and unexpected and the fact that it was due to his old war wound had made her worry about Shang all the more, so she was glad that he had finally returned.  
Her husband embraced her in consolation. To be held like this felt so good and yet, there was something bothering her. It had been so quiet around and she couldn't help but feel edgy. Of all that had been missing, all the things that were supposed to return by now, one hadn't yet.

"Say, have you probably seen Mushu?" she asked as her husband was stroking her back.  
Their fight had been yesterday and the dragon hadn't showed up again since then. She was used to him getting back to her, even when she thought she might have lost him or - hard as it was to admit - gotten rid of him; therefore it was beginning to feel strange without having him around.  
"Nope," a strongly furred midget-lion answered, "it was a nice day till now," the fuzzball then cleared his throat, "until you came up with a message like this of course."  
The creature then glanced up at her skeptically, "Why do you ask anyway, isn't he with you?"  
"No," Mulan pointed out, hesitating, "We well…" she didn't know how to explain what happened, but the lion seemed to understand nonetheless.  
"Well probably he's in the temple then," Shang's guardian, Chester, answered and noticed how Mulan cringed at the thought of visiting the temple.

When the guys finally convinced Mulan to visit the temple, all they found was an anxious cricket.  
"Boy, pal," Chester said, drawing closer, "You look just as if you've seen a ghost." Not that this would have been a big surprise in the Ancestors' Temple.  
The guardian picked up the insect from the floor by clipping its antennae between his soft toes, listening as it chirped some stuff in panic.  
"Easy fella, what did you say happened?"  
Mulan and Shang felt rather helpless by just standing there, being able to listen, yet not to understand.  
"Hm…, yeah, yeah…" Chester nodded as Cri-kee continued his nonstopping speech, now also using his tiny arms and legs to make things clear for at least the lion.  
"So what does he say?" Mulan asked at the next possible silence, growing impatient more and more.  
"Oh, Mushu is fine," the lion grinned, "He'll be back soon enough."  
The cricket kicked the lion's nose who immediately pulled the little bug away.  
Shang bowed down, glaring at the fuzzball, hollering a "Don't lie to us" with his _I mean business_-voice.  
The guardian frowned, drew back a little and then listened to Cri-kee who had started chirping again.

"A bird," Chester blankly translated, listening to Cri-kee one more time.  
"A big, dark bird…" he then added, still listening and nodding, "from his description most likely a bird of prey."  
For a moment a spiteful smile showed up on Chester's face. This could have been his chance to get rid of that little lizard… though he didn't get around to notice Mulan's increasing concern.  
She looked up at the temple-ceiling blinking some tears away. The girl couldn't stay there any longer. She then straightened herself up in all her wanna-be bravery.  
"We have to find him."  
It could clearly be heard that she was still scared at heart.  
Chester sighed. "Oh, great…"  
The young woman looked down at the little lion.  
"Does Cri-kee know where that thing was bound to?"  
The guardian shook his head, and then felt a frisson, twisting his ears.  
"He's a guardian," Chester then threw in, "he can take care of himself."  
For a short moment Mulan stared daggers at the normally unimpressed lion before she left to saddle Khan. When the lion was sure of her being gone he turned to Cri-kee again.  
"_When_ did that happen?"

"We're gonna take a nice ride, Khan," she greeted him. The horse seemed excited until Mulan told him about finding Mushu. When the young woman got close, the horse immediately turned away.  
"Hold still, Khan… what's gotten into you?" She tried to saddle him, holding on to his reins, but the horse just pulled away bristling. Not even Mulan's soft suasion could calm her dear friend. Khan was far from being aggressive, yet he proofed to be even more stubborn than a bunch of mules.

Giving up on him Mulan leaned herself against the horse who had just hardly warmed up.  
"Does it mean so much to you?" a voice from below asked. Mulan took a glance to spot Chester and then slid down Khan's leg to the ground.  
"I turned him away…" And he had been the only one to be there for her.  
"Well there is a ghost in the temple who knows where the hawk is," Chester mentioned as casually as he could.  
"It's a hawk?" Mulan looked up surprised by the new information and then turned to see Chester who nodded.  
"Shang's dad indicated it was Shan-Yu's falcon."  
Mulan stood up again.  
"What does Shan-Yu's bird have to do with Mushu?"  
The lion shrugged, "Apparently, he was the Hun's guardian. So that's a thing between the two of them, you shouldn't interfere."  
Chester then found himself lifted from the floor, staring into two angry eyes.  
"You said that ghost knows where they are."  
"I never did…" he fipped subdued.

***

The bruised ego and Mushu's hurt pride had made him an easy prey, and his captor had been positively surprised by the lack of trouble the guardian was causing him, and even fonder was he of the fact that this so-called heroine and the little dragon seemingly belonged together, it saved him a lot of time.  
Mushu, on the other hand, was ignorant of what was going on, for he never really paid attention. It was a bad habit of his and an absolute no-go for guardians, that had often gotten the little dragon into trouble before. One would have assumed he'd learn from his mistakes; nevertheless, this was not the case.

Narrowing his eyes Mushu kept track of the shadow that passed him by every now and then. He had no idea how long he had been putting up with this by now, but he frankly didn't really care. The dragon didn't want to return home just yet. After all, someone needed to be taught a lesson. If he had known what was to come, the guardian would have been careful with what he wished for, since the little dragon had never expected that it was no one else, but himself, whom the lesson would be taught to.

Now Mushu was impatiently tapping his foot. The dragon was starting to feel rather drained and hollow, he'd probably gotten hungry by now and needed to get his thoughts off that. Besides, the dragon could imagine his day way more valuable than… to be taken hostage by some creep he didn't even know. Yup, Mushu definitely knew a better pastime.

"You obviously don't want to feed me to your babies," he stated, seemingly to no one in particular. The sound of rushing wind stopped and from behind the dragon a big, yet almost skinny bird emerged.  
"Haven't you figured out already?" the bird questioned, built up to its full size, staring down at Mushu who stood still and unimpressed, barely a human foot in front of the hawk.  
Mushu closed his eyes bored. What was he supposed to figure out? The creature had dragged him towards a mountain.  
A pretty high mountain, but through the blur he had believed to recognize his hometown somewhere below. If he just wanted to, he could have gotten back there in no time. His pride led him to believe so. After all he wasn't that far away, just pretty darn high. Not too high though, since the snow around was thin and only due to the weather conditions. It was no comparison to the Tung Shao Passage.

"Of course you don't recognize me," it started, walking past Mushu, and putting itself in front of him, a stern expression written on its face.  
"Yeah, why should I?" the dragon inquired, starting to brush some fresh snowflakes off of his shoulders. These were really getting annoying.  
"Because the last time we met," the bird continued, "you robbed me of my feathers."  
Mushu stopped the brushing, now glancing at the falcon.  
"Ring a bell?" the hawk asked as it noticed Mushu's stunned expression.  
The dragon mused for a moment and the bird, slowly growing impatient, moved its head closer waiting for just the tiniest hint of a sign.  
"Nope," Mushu then said, shrugging, "Don't remember, clear me up, would ya?"  
Now visibly angry, the falcon lifted itself from the floor with a shriek that long after still resounded in the thin mountain air.  
"YOU!" the bird made its rage pretty clear, "are responsible for my master's death!"

_A guardian?_

The dragon frowned. Apparently, he had gotten into the hands of a total jerk. A total jerk that was circling him now.  
"Shan-Yu told me," the falcon stopped its rooster-like stalking to stare Mushu down, "That this darn rocket was lit by a red lizard."  
"Dragon!" The red guardian corrected, and annoyed as he was by the 'lizard' hadn't really paid attention to what the falcon just said.  
It took him a moment to let all the words sink in, and once they did, the dragon disbelievingly backed a step away.  
"Shan-Yu?" That guy was dead! He was supposed to be! In this case…  
"I see, you're no guardian _anymore_!" Mushu stated with a sly grin, getting back his self-esteem.  
The hawk chuckled, "Oh how funny we are today," he raised his head piercing at the dragon.  
"One guardian's pleasure is another guardian's chore," the falcon shrugged then looked back at Mushu, face stern, "I just want to change the point of-"  
The dragon dodged his attack, "view…" the bird finished as it calmly swooped back to the ground.

"So, why aren't you inactive?" Mushu asked, pushing himself from the ground, prepared for any other sudden move his self claimed archenemy would do now.  
"You know the rules," the bird walked a step towards the dragon who put himself up, so that this freak wouldn't have a chance to stare him down, "A guardian only turns inactive, once the soul of his guarded one found peace. I thought you'd know already."  
Mushu fell a step back as dark memories started to creep up.

_[Flash]_

"_No! Don't do that!" the dragon interjected, turning the head of his allocated one to face what was lying in front of them again._

_[Flash]_

_The little dragon got catapulted ahead of them. _

_[Flash]_

_He was climbing under the man, pulling and pushing, drawing forward but couldn't move his protégé one bit. _

_[Flash]_

_There was liquid flowing over his body._

_It was warm._

_It was... red. _

_[Flash]_

With a slight squirm, the dragon shook the thoughts out of his head  
"You honestly can't expect my master to find peace when he knows that his nemesis was a woman… not even a woman, a girl!" the falcon shrieked the last part.  
"And I'm going to take care of that child."  
"Not while I'm around!" Mushu rapidly got to his feet, storming towards the falcon who blocked him with a sly grin on his face.  
"Let's play a little game... it's called 'kill the guardian'."

A sneaky grin appeared on Mushu's face.

"With pleasure," he answered, ready to set a nice blow when he was pushed over by something.  
"Too bad I don't play after rules," the falcon hissed looking at the dragon who was desperately trying to get from under the rock.  
The falcon smirked at this view and unleashed a little rock-avalanche. This should keep the little serpentine for a while. Once he had made sure about that, the bird set off to look for his enemy's guarded one.

Buried alive. Terrific.  
If he couldn't make it out of this pile, one soon wouldn't be able to differ him from these rocks.  
He gave it another try but still couldn't accomplish to move anything.

He had to get out here!

He had to warn Mulan!

For his own sake!


	4. Chapter 3: When all goes down

Chapter 3: When all goes down 

"_You cannot avoid what's going to happen - but you can influence it"  
-§1 Guardian Law_

Khan had given in, yet it was clearly visible that the horse wasn't pleased – at all. Mulan was riding ahead, Shang followed her musing. His wife had been in too rushed spirits to move out, so that the general's reason was the only cause for them being equipped. Poorly equipped, but Mulan didn't mind. The less they had to carry along, the faster they would move ahead. And after all – they had to climb up a mountain, in case of course, Chester's instructions were trustworthy. Luckily for them, it had been a mountain-passage not too far away, yet it was a considerable distance from the next village and due to the vertical rocks, the group had to put up with a detour.

Chester, who had made himself comfortable behind Shang was lazily watching the road they'd passed already. He as well wasn't too fond of this mini-mission, but the ancestors had appointed him with the responsibility. No one could keep someone like Mulan, and since she wasn't allowed to go alone, Chester had to accompany her as her new guardian – How it should have been in first place. Secretly the lion hoped that they would never find the little lizard again.

He was a bad influence on Mulan after all; and her devotion, no, her enthusiasm to it already began to transfer onto his Shang. If it hadn't, then the current state would have been normal, but no, she had to talk him into combining the family-temples, talked him into disobeying the rules.  
Someone had to teach Mulan that rules weren't meant to be broken and the lion surely didn't expect Mushu to do this.

For the whole trip now, Mulan had been looking straight forward, eventually stopping to glance sideways, but she never turned back.  
Chester put his head on his folded paws in a bored half-sleepy way. Try as she may to hide it as hard as she could, the lion could still smell her concern and it was making him sick.  
"You might as well make yourself useful!" the girl announced and for the first time now, was glancing back at the males. Not being able to help it, Chester bared his teeth for a moment and stopped when came to realize that he was disobeying his mistress. Disobeying the rules.  
He shook his head to himself covering his eyes. How much further did this have to go? Bad influence, bad influence!  
"How so?" the lion groaned from under his paws, where he had been hiding from himself just a moment ago, "If that lizard was close, either you or me would have noticed already, so why don't we just move on?"

The woman looked the small fuzzball over for a moment and then turned to the road ahead of her again, appreciating the guardian's advice. The little lion had a good point after all, yet while Mulan intended to find Mushu, Chester merely wanted to get this over with, so they could return home.

***

Only the rush of wind could be heard as the falcon soared through the air. A soft breeze was tickling his feathers. It had stopped snowing, so even though he was drifting through the air with great speed, he had a clear shot at the nearby village. He smiled confidently. At this distance their bonding should break during the next few hours, which would leave both of them, the dragon and his girl-protégé defenseless.  
The bird startled as he spotted a small group at the ground below. Flapping still in midair he narrowed his eyes for the pack seemed oddly familiar. The hawk calmly swooped down to land on a rock. He watched the group as mist was beginning to show up, disguising himself even better from their eyes, while he himself had no such problems of keeping track of them, even far above the ground.

He hadn't expected them to follow him, neither did he expect them to know his location or to bring another guardian along. The bird snarled at himself. He had to reassess his plan, and that before they would reach the little lizard.  
His claws scratched against the stone in anxiety, chance was so tempting and yet he solely kept his eyes on the group patiently. Time had taught him to be patient and he knew too well, not to rush things.

After eyeing the group for a while now, a smile formed on his beak. He chuckled to himself, shrugging with the wings folded on his back Actually, why not? Let them find the lizard. He could kill two birds with one stone – not that the falcon had ever liked this phrase, but as of now it worked perfectly for him.  
These were the mountains, in this wilderness there wouldn't be any help nearby and he could deal with the little backup, for this place was his realm of advantage.

What the falcon didn't know, was that Mushu himself hadn't been lazy as well. It had taken him a while, but he'd finally managed to slip through his stony prison to search for Mulan on his own.  
Surveying the still wild passage with a growing feeling of victory, the hawk's expression fell at the sight of Mushu who - with his back pinned to the stonewall - was sneaking his way right towards Mulan.  
The bird mused at his sight.

Didn't keep him long enough.

Dashing down, the falcon blocked the dragon's way who seemed in no way surprised.  
"Where are we going?" the bird questioned as it began to circle around Mushu in a stiff pace.  
As the guardian refused to answer, the falcon picked him up by his skinny arms and lifted him into the air, granting the dragon an outlook over the passage.  
"Look at them," the falcon introduced. Mushu didn't quite understand what he was talking about, since his eyes weren't used to such an altitude, but following the bird's gaze, the dragon quickly spotted his friends below.  
"They will be quite disappointed once they have to realize that they've come in vain."  
From the corner of his eye, Mushu now glared up at the falcon, struggling to get free. The big bird merely smirked at the serpentine's useless attempts. The smirk soon faded away when the hawk had to dodge a small wave of fire, which resulted in him unintentionally loosening his grip on the dragon who now was dangling in midair, holding on to only one of the falcon's feet.  
"You wanna invent sky-diving before its time? Fine!" the falcon screeched, which oblivious to him got the attention of the little troop below.  
Before the falcon had the chance to let him go, Mushu had swung himself to the rock-face and was now clinging to it.  
The bird couldn't hide a silent laughter at this sight.  
"You're still gonna refuse to be a lizard?" he asked just to be greeted by a small fireball that faded away next to his head. Out of the corner of his eyes the bird glanced to the remaining smoke of the flame and his playful expression had turned to the familiar hateful grimace.  
"As you wish!"  
He flapped his mighty wings one time, shot up and turned to dash down towards the group. As Mushu realized what was going on, he let go of the rock to jump, merely missed his aim and instead of the back, clung to the falcon's tail feathers. It didn't stop him from climbing on the back afterwards though, to interfere with its wings and cause the falcon to make an ungentle crash landing on the top of a snow covered ledge, close to the incoming group.  
The bird struggled itself free from Mushu's grasp, hopped a few jumps away and shook off the snow on his dark plumage.  
He glared at Mushu to find the group getting visible through the mist behind him. A smile appeared on the falcon's face and he shot the dragon a last glare.  
"Here we go."  
Mushu's attempt to stop the animal failed as it lifted itself up from the floor, and he still stared unbelieving at the sky as Chester's "I found him!" resounded through the cold mountain air.

Faster than the dragon actually realized everyone of them kneeled down to check if he was alright.  
"There you are, we were worried," Mulan said and just wanted to touch the guardian as he looked at her blankly and backed away.  
Sucking it up, he studied her unbelievingly and the only thought that was running through his mind was this sole one subject.

_She wasn't supposed to be here. _

The dragon had already deemed himself unreliable when he had sensed her approaching a while ago, but here she truly was, in flesh and blood and all her obstinacy. She'd come for him – and it felt so right.

But she wasn't supposed to be here.

At the lack of reaction Mulan and Shang looked at each other for a moment until a falcon's scream got their attention  
The girl looked startled for a moment.  
"What was that?" She asked.  
Mushu spun around, shifting himself towards Mulan.

"You're not supposed to be here," the dragon then finally thought out loud, always keeping an eye at the foggy air.  
And then he showed up, breaking through the clouds and grabbing Mulan by her clothes, tugging her around but only managed to throw her to the ground.  
"Oh no you don't!" Mushu immediately kept hold of his girl but couldn't achieve to stop the falcon. The young woman herself struggled to get up again, when Chester joined the dragon and tugged at her trouser leg.  
Mulan shooed the hawk away and took a little moment for herself. Mushu walked back a little so he could see everything of her as well as he could. She didn't seem to be injured.  
Chester glanced at Mushu as he did so.  
"What was that about?!?"  
The dragon returned the look, hurried up to the lion and started to push him around, almost throwing him over in the process.  
"Get her away from here!"

Shang meanwhile offered to help Mulan up, but she refused.  
"I'm fine Shang, you don't need to."  
Just when she was back on her feet, the falcon shot out of nowhere causing her to stumble backwards.  
Chester was about to catch her leg again, when he realized that it would have only made her fall and resigned from his intention, Shang instead tried to catch her hand.  
Mushu watched out for the falcon again, but he almost couldn't see anything. This weather would kill them all. He turned around to face his guarded one again and his eyes widened as he realized they were drawing closer to the edge. A frozen edge!

"Watch out!"

And with this Mulan literally lost the ground beneath her feet.

She would fall.

She would die.

Time seemed to stop and in a moment of absent-mindedness the little dragon jumped after her.

***

The guardian rolled down the stony, hard and steep slope. He caught hold of himself and down where the mist started to clear he could see his guarded one curled up in dirty snow.

"Mulan!"

And he saw the falcon dashing down beside him heading towards her.  
Immediately letting go of the rock the dragon rushed down and took a deep breath while he was falling...

Shang and his guardian jerked back as a warm blow from below lit up the fog in bright orange colors.  
Was that fire?

Chester moved a little closer.  
Was that Mushu?

The lion peeked downwards. It was that little lizard indeed. He could actually see them! The flames had chased away the mist.  
He smiled. Impressive.

***

Stone was hard.

And so was his landing. If he hadn't been a guardian this impact most likely would have knocked him out.  
Mushu watched heavily breathing from the ground, as the falcon was first tumbling, then freefalling into the abyss. He got to his feet, signalizing the falcon that he'd chosen the wrong opponent.  
"Never underestimate a true guardian!" he yelled after the bird and collapsed again as soon as the hawk was out of sight.

Did he… just really say that?

The dragon turned around to see Mulan with his weary gotten eyes and crawled towards her.  
His broken little girl. He was a failure!  
And to make things worse, he was the cause of all this.  
"Mulan?" he hesitated, "Are you alright?"

Obviously not.

"Mulan, talk to me!" He tried careful shaking, in order to wake her up, but she kept lying there as if asleep. TKO, Bingo. As if he hadn't known better. The only thing right now assuring Mushu that she wasn't dead, was the lack of ancestor-rants ringing in his head.  
He sighed in relief and sat down, keeping an eye on her motionless body. It was good in so many ways to finally see her again, but awful to witness her in this state.  
"I'm sorry."

He knew she couldn't hear him.  
But he wished she did.

"How are you two?" Shang yelled from up above, deeply hoping to get an answer.  
"We're still alive!" a male voice responded him.  
"Now that's an answer," Shang thought in a mixture of frustration and relief.


	5. Chapter 4: Icecold fire

Chapter 4: Ice-cold fire

_I'm not scared.  
I wouldn't even be scared of death if I was mortal.  
I'm not scared of the falcon, why should I be?  
He can't harm me.  
You know that I'm brave.  
I would stay a whole life long by your side, if you wanted me to.  
Dragons live long.  
I'm not scared, and I will always be there to fight away _your_ fears.  
And do you know why?_

_Because I'm afraid that something could happen to you._

***

It had been quite a while until Mulan opened up her eyes.  
In the distance she could spot the snow-covered rock face, blurrily. Tiny campfire-lights were blinding her sight.  
As her vision cleared, the first thing she saw was the little red dragon sitting in front of her as if sleeping. She'd never seen him sleep before.  
Mushu had placed himself on top of a little snow pile that was starting to melt away under his feet.  
"What hap…"

"Don't speak," the dragon cut her off, opening his eyes to see her, "I'm sorry," he continued, hanging his head.  
There was a pause and Mulan resisted the urge to ask, since he recommended her to stay silent. However, as she followed his suggestion, she tried to pull herself up a little, so it would at least be easier to breathe.  
"That's a thing just between guardians. You didn't have to come..."_  
She mustn't have come!_

Mulan just shook her head, with her trustworthy smile and moved her hand out to pet her guardian. This time, he didn't back away._  
Was he trembling?_

The moment was lost when the end of a rope hit Mushu on his head.  
"Grab this!" Chester shouted and then bit into the rope to help his master pull.  
The young warrior looked at the cord dumbfounded for a while and then tried to put herself up, when a stinging pain from somewhere she couldn't detect made her yell and Mushu perk up.  
Mulan broke down, clenching her teeth.  
What was this? She had felt so comfortably numb before; and now pain was seeping through every inch of her body, blackening her vision.

The dragon had scurried up to her, holding her head up to his eyelevel by grabbing her cheeks. He softly slapped her awake again.  
"Mulan, listen to me!" he said with an urgent tone in his voice and then jumped to catch the rope that was meanwhile dangling freely in midair.  
"When we're up again," he said, while putting the rope around Mulan's waist, "Stay with Shang." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath when Mulan interrupted him.  
"What's this all about?" she asked him, sounding more helpless than intended.  
The dragon softly kicked her in the back, making her wince slightly.  
"This is of huge importance!" he added and then signalizing pulled at the rope.

The girl felt a swift motion, as her body was about to leave the ground.  
"Answer my question," she demanded after a cringe, glaring at Mushu who was now sitting on her right shoulder, watching as they slowly spun in midair.  
"When I'm around, that beast can track you," Mushu said, leaving a big uncomfortable pause, "Like this," he then added, pointing at Mulan's right leg before he leaned against her neck, turning away.

The young woman stared silently down at the slowly further away drifting escarpment. Mushu had gotten unusually aggressive, she found it hard to recognize him anymore. And she hadn't yet…  
"Mushu, I…"  
"Pain is good…" he cut her off, barely whispering.  
Mulan backed a little away from him, not that it helped anything.  
"It makes you know, you're still alive."

***

When they were up again, Mushu walked over to Shang, explaining the situation with a hasty voice.  
"I…" he then said, slowing down, "I will follow you behind."  
Shang grimaced.  
"He'll get lost," the lion who was sitting comfortably on Shang's horse pointed out, without moving a muscle.  
"No he won't," Shang insisted in his low, calm voice.  
Mushu looked at them skeptically, backing a step away.  
"You are not going to abandon yourself while I'm around!" the general commanded, directing the dragon onto his horse, "We made a promise to Mulan and I am not going to disappoint her."  
The little guardian disapprovingly swept his eyes over the ground, sighed defeated and then walked towards the horse, peeking up at Chester who refused to give way.

***

He choked.  
Smut.  
Dirt.  
Burned… all over

Another cough.  
Before its inner eye the bird could see Shan-Yu as the Hun was staring it down.

For failure.

The hawk wearily shook his head.  
Defending.

The girl, it would die soon anyway.  
Hadn't long to live.

The dragon…

The falcon's right wing started to shiver, feathers growing back rapidly.  
With a hiss of pain, the bird staggered itself to its feet, away from the sharp rocks.  
He was shaky, but he was so much swifter in air anyway.

The dragon…

The falcon flashed up his amber eyes, shaking the dust off from his new coat.

_He'd follow her. _

***

The ride back home was quiet and tensed and since Chester couldn't stand the tension he tried to tease Mushu a little, the dragon though didn't let himself be bothered. He was lost in his thoughts. As much as the lion tried to, he couldn't distract the colleague for his own good. Instead Mushu kept staring back at the wounded Mulan. With a leg like this, she of course wasn't in the condition of riding properly anymore so now she was, literally, just hanging there, sideways, clinging to the reins.

Mushu's view wandered back to the road. He couldn't take any more of Mulan's immobility.

It made him feel so useless, so responsible.

No one else had noticed, but Mushu had lost a lot of his flexibility, which was part of the reason for his apathy. Still, his inner fire burned hotter than he'd ever known before. In fact, if he hadn't known better he could have sworn that he'd burn up any second from the inside out.

The dragon looked around, spotting a small valley to the right and a river to the left. The valley was covered with snow and glittered in the sunlight, while the river was mostly frozen, except for eventual waves that cracked the thin ice.  
And still, even if he tried to, he couldn't keep his eyes off of his girl.

All of a sudden, the dragon leapt off Shang's horse, waited for Khan to pass by and then climbed up the horse, who, for once in a lifetime, didn't seem to mind.

"Mulan?" he whispered at her sight. She looked at him livelier than he had expected her to be. He stroked her cheek relieved and then left his arm dangling beside him. "It'll be alright."  
She nodded.  
"I know."  
The dragon's eyes wandered to her right leg and then closed themselves shut, as the guardian whispered a suffocated "Thank you."  
In response, she rubbed the dragon behind his right ear, causing him to visibly relax.  
"So that's what it's like…" he murmured.  
"What?" Mulan asked, her voice barely above a whisper, but there.  
Combined with a heavy sigh Mushu's shaky voice answered: "Having a guardian."  
A confident smile set upon the woman's features as her hand now began to stroke the guardian on its back. And it was reviving his hopes.  
The dragon had truly felt like a hypocrite just a few seconds ago, but now he was starting to believe himself.

It was alright. Everything would be fine.

His girl was strong and he knew that. She could move. She could speak.  
She could smile.

It was not long after when Mulan's smile turned into a contorted expression as fresh pain began to pulse through her body – and alongside there was a fresh wave of heat welling up in Mushu, now so intense the dragon could barely take it anymore. Finding it hard to breathe, he snapped around.

"Shang!"

The general stopped and along with his guardian turned his attention back to Mushu.  
"Something's wrong with Mulan!"_  
She won't…_

Shang turned back and when he passed Khan who had fallen behind a little, Chester changed the horse, granting the dragon a visit.  
"Hey, what's the matter?"  
The lion poked his companion and jerked his paw back again.  
"Man, you have fever or something?" he asked the dragon while rubbing his hand.  
Mushu stared back at the lion, fear clearly visible in his eyes when the shriek of a falcon sent shivers down his spine. Wouldn't that fowl just leave it?  
The dragon rapidly pushed himself up, rushed up to Khan's head and took a deep breath. This time, the falcon dodged the waving flame swiftly and carried off with Mushu ideally caught inside his claws.  
Chester peeked from under his paws, as the rush had passed him. He gawked at a, for her condition unharmed, Mulan next to him and then turned to narrow his eyes at the river where he could spot the two guardians. Was that… _intended_?  
"Idiot," Chester thought shaking his head in pity and laid himself down to enjoy the show.

The falcon had dashed together with Mushu into the nearby river. The crack of thin ice breaking could clearly be heard and caught Mulan's attention.  
The dragon tried to reach the surface, but as much as he tried to, the bird kept pushing him down from above the icy water.  
"How does that feel?" the falcon asked, only recognizable as a shriek as he tossed Mushu around in a firm grip.  
"Getting robbed of your powers!"  
It pushed him back into the water.  
"Half active, half inactive…" the hawk lifted again, "able to get wounded, yet not being able to die!"  
Something cracked. Definitely no ice this time.  
"That's what it feels like for your guarded one right now," the falcon hissed, throwing the dragon back into the water, where he disappeared beneath the ice cap.

***

Shang meanwhile stood next to Mulan caressing her hand as she looked at him with a dreamy expression. Never before had the general felt so helpless.  
"I'm fine Shang," she reassured him in a soft whisper decorated with a faint smile on her pale gotten face, "it's just a broken leg."  
"What makes you so sure?" He asked, inclosing her hands in his own.  
"Mushu said it."

The young man shook his head. What made her so sure he hadn't been lying? It wouldn't have been the first time. But then again… never cause panic. The general didn't have to be a guardian to know that. Always tell the injured ones they'd be fine. Hope was frail.  
Shang clutched her hand.

_...That everything would be fine. _

A flame rose up behind them and Mulan noticed the heat and her wandering shadow on Shang's horse. She tried to pull herself up.  
"What's going on there?" she asked, now attempting to get a sight of the river.  
"Nothing," Shang responded and calmly embraced her, so she couldn't turn around. She didn't need to see this.  
"Chester!" the general then commanded, pointing to the direction of the river, yet still firmly holding Mulan as if he was afraid she'd slip away if he let go.  
"Do something!"  
The lion glanced back at his master with a disapproving look. Couldn't Shang see that he just made himself comfortable?  
"That's an order!" Shang insisted.  
"Well, well…" Chester complained under his breath and jumped off of Khan, heading towards the river casually and stopped at the bank as he saw the water in front of his paws.

Water.

"Why water?" he thought, squeezed his eyes shut and made his way onto an ice-field nearby, carefully sliding forward. It wasn't long until the falcon dove his claws in for Mushu again, causing the ice to crack under Chester's weight.  
"Oh no…"

***

The guardian opened his eyes. The water was cold.

COLDCOLDCOLD!

His whole fur didn't provide cover anymore for it was wet all over and he hated it like this. A flash of heat passed the lion, but faded away as fast as it had appeared. The ball of fur turned around to spot Mushu behind him, thawing the sheet of ice above him.

On top of the surface the falcon's claws were scratching against the solid water. Hearing the noise, Mushu dove deeper and watched as the hawk's scheme disappeared again.  
It wasn't long after when the claws broke in. Reflexively the dragon intended to spit a flame in defense, but when taking breath only managed to choke out some smoke that barely warmed up the water a little. Determination grew on Chester's face and he paddled towards the new hole. When he peeked out of the water, the lion had to witness how the falcon had pinned Mushu's neck onto the ice with one of his claws, the other one lifted and ready to strike.

"Hey, Plucky!" Chester then yelled, "I'm her guardian!" and indeed, the bird lost its attention on Mushu for a while.  
"Sure you are!" the dragon blurted angered up, getting back the interest of the falcon.  
"I mean yeah, sure, he sure is," Mushu then stammered subdued upon realizing the situation he was in, the claws of the hawk still firmly wrapped around his neck. Grinning anxiously he added a subtle nod to confirm his statement.

After a moment of musing the falcon then took off with the red lizard, for it was the dragon after all who had plucked the bird before, and him who had lit the cannon that killed its master. If things had changed meanwhile, the hawk could still get back on the lion when he was done here, but as of now he preferred not to lose sight of his actual intention.  
The lion cursed under his breath and turned towards the riverbank, where Shang had been watching the little struggle, clinging dearly to Mulan.

"Master!" Chester yelled into Shang's direction, who looked up from his wife, "I suggest you should get going! We'll come after."  
Assured now that his guardian could handle the situation, the general nodded and encouraged Khan to move. They'd head for the next available doctor immediately.  
The lion watched them leaving, turned to look at the sky again, where the falcon was already tiring, and dove under again. Pushing himself to the ground beneath the river, Chester couched for them, clawing into the bottom to get hold against the flow. Eventually the falcon believed the fur-ball to be gone and rested himself on the hardened surface again. He could work more precisely anyway if the dragon wouldn't struggle in midair. When Chester spotted the bird's shadow reappearing, he jumped off and broke through the – thanks to Mushu's body heat – thinly thawed ice, packed the falcon and dragged both guardians under water. Now fully out of it, the bird tried desperately to escape the flood, but instead was carried away by the streaming. The fuzzy lion meanwhile took the opportunity and pulled Mushu by his neck like a cub to the safe ground.

When they got out of the water again, the two guardians started to outcough each other. A confident smile settled on Chester as he breathed heavily and then shook himself dry.  
"That wasn't so bad now, was it?"  
He then turned to Mushu, to find him lying beaten next to a small puddle of blood.  
The lion scrabbled back, staring at this sight in shock.  
Was that even his? Sure it was, whom else… _he was solidifying already._  
Chester closed his eyes. He'd never seen a guardian bleed before.  
The midget-lion swallowed hard before opening his eyes again and then carefully moved over to Mushu, who was still lying there, now motionless.  
"Hey," he whispered, hitting the dragon softly just to get no reaction. Chester's worried mien turned into an angry frown. He yelled a strong "Don't scare me you freak!" and caused Mushu to jump up and flinch together in pain.  
"See? It works," he then said blankly, turning around to follow their masters' trace. Mushu was left behind dumbfounded until the sound of cracking ice and a meanwhile all too familiar screech got their attention again.  
The hawk reappeared on a floe, staring daggers at the two guardians. He looked overly worn-out and his wet plumage made it impossible for him to fly.

Chester shifted himself back towards Mushu, drawing out his claws in the progress to get a feeling for the ground.  
The dragon pulled himself up, just to break down again with a pained inward gasp.  
"Recovery?" the lion asked dryly.

"10 minutes."

"5 minutes."

"Deal."

The lion jumped the inclosing hawk as Mushu rolled on his back squeezing his eyes shut. He could feel his broken spine regenerating. After Chester had been keeping the chicken-jumping bird away with his claws and teeth for a while, a clawed red hand reached for the falcon's foot and pulled it away.  
"Let's play a game!" the dragon hissed, eye to eye with the enemy.

The fuzzy lion flinched a few times at what was to be seen there. Not long after, he covered his eyes and only removed his paws again when the protesting squeaks had ended.

Mushu rubbed the feathers away from his hands and – fully standing now – nodded at the yet again plucked bird with a pleased expression.  
"That's what I call Chinese butt-kicking, Mr. BBQ!"  
As the falcon shakily tried to get up again, Chester moved over and pinned the bird to the ground with his right front paw, threateningly playing with his claws around the bird's neck.

Talk about irony.

The falcon, unimpressed, shook his head demonstratively. "I'll get you!" he screamed in a high-pitched screech, "You and your little _girl_!"  
Frowning, the fuzzball moved his head down to explain in a – for him – unusually low voice:  
"Your guarded one didn't find peace, not because he was defeated by a woman, but because you left him."  
The bird's eyes flickered for a moment before he desperately tried to get away from the two guardians.  
Mushu tapped the lion on his shoulder, who turned to give the dragon a glimpse.  
"Let him go," he requested with a sore gotten, yet calm voice.  
"Are you sure?" Chester asked, narrowing his purple eyes and angrily turned to the bird, staring it down again. The dragon nodded, looking at the falcon viciously.  
"I wish you a lot of fun with the next eternity of Gong-duty."

With a last warning growl Chester let go of the bird who immediately sped away. He then put himself into a noble sitting position and turned to the dragon next to him, poking him into his side.  
"Do they even have something like that?"  
Mushu seemed lost in thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"Shan-Yu is a barbarian. He'll think of something."

"True."


	6. Epilogue: The gift of life

Chapter 5: The gift of life

She was neither sleeping nor awake. Shang had been buoying her up and calmed her down, yet Mulan's eyes were still red from the crying. He sat next to her, tenderly holding on to her hand.  
Several bruises, black and blue marks and minor inner bleedings, but the worst of all had still been the broken leg.

"_Those are quite some injuries. How did that happen?"_  
Shang had made up a cover-story. A bad one he believed, but the doctor had bought it.  
"_Your wife is blessed with a guardian."_

How true really was that?

Even though the doctor had been positively surprised about the previously done treatment he had insisted upon keeping her around, but Mulan had made it clear how much she disliked this idea. Strict bed rest had been the compromise.  
The general caressed her cheek a little and for a short while forced a smile upon her features. It had disappeared when her eyes moved towards the window again and found that there was still nothing.

All the while she had been terribly afraid and yet she didn't fear death.  
"Shang?" she whispered, her eyes still fixed on the gate.  
He moved some hair out of her sight.  
"What is it?"  
"A soldier never leaves a man behind."  
The general sighed. The two critters were in no way his 'men', but Shang already knew the outcome to this argument, so he settled with avoiding it in first place.  
"Mulan, I told you already. They'll be fine."

The young woman was confident that Shang was speaking the truth, but she couldn't fight away the sense of guilt. Leaving them behind for her own safety. She would have stayed, but she hadn't had a choice.  
The guilt had been nagging her.  
And the helplessness.  
She didn't want help.  
She didn't need help.  
She had achieved anything else in her life alone before!

No…

Mulan choked.

_Mushu. _

Sure, sometimes he was a real pain in the neck.  
But…  
He had offered her protection; company.  
He had given her the strength to carry on; when she couldn't.  
He had done everything for her; whatever she demanded.  
He had forgiven her everything.

No…

He had not forgiven her turning him down.

Her eyes wandered back to the still image of the gate.

***

When they reached home again the guardians headed straight for the temple, where the ancestors would already be waiting for them. On their way, they noticed that Shang and Mulan had returned home again by now, for their horses were to be found in the stables.  
The dragon stopped at the sight of the temple and watched how Chester was walking in nonchalantly. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Mushu closed his eyes and followed the lion.

Let's get this over with.

_***_

_These eyes..._ if looks could kill… Mushu would have crumbled down just now. The Great Ancestor really was pissed off.  
"You know that this whole mess is your fault."  
Chester looked at his partner smugly, who glared back at him and then sank his head nodding.  
"Mulan got herself endangered because of you, and if you stay close to her this won't change."  
The dragon rolled his eyes. He would have loved to say it, but he actually didn't want the ancestor to get to the point.  
"You're off your pedestal."

Mushu's head sank down with a disappointed sigh.  
"The duty of guardianship will be transferred to the husband's guardian."  
A sharp "YES" resounded next to Mushu.  
The dragon went to fetch the gong.  
"Mushu," the ancestor stopped him.  
The little dragon looked up at him.

"That's the cricket's job."

There was a moment of silence.  
The ex-guardian stared up at the ancestor, swallowed and took a look-around through the temple. Then he turned around and left, without a remark or protest.  
Chester watched him go and then turned to the ancestor with a slightly worried expression.  
"Wasn't that a little… harsh?"  
"You should be happy," the ancestor said and nodded once at Chester before he faded away.

When Mulan looked out of the window she happily noticed the dragon's presence. Blissfully surprised she put herself up to see more, yet she found herself unable to stand up.  
"Mushu?" she shouted after a short moment of hesitation. Her voice was still weak and subdued, but the girl could tell that he stopped moving and then turned around to spot her seeking from the window. The dragon knew this window. Through it he had used to watch over her in her sleep from the Ancestors' Temple.  
"Where are you going?" she then asked, with a normal volume and no audible undertone. The girl barely believed that Mushu actually understood her and she waited patiently as he walked towards her. When the dragon had almost arrived at Mulan's home he stopped, staring up at the windowsill he was used to climb on.  
He thought for a moment, breathing heavily. Mulan could see how he closed his eyes and almost squirmed.  
"I wish for your best," he croaked and turned to leave.  
"What? Mushu, what happened?" The young warrior asked, just to get no reaction. She tried to grasp after him which only resulted in her almost dropping from the window.  
"They fired him," Chester said coolly as he walked over to Mulan and sat down beside her on the bed. He looked up at her proudly, "I'm your guardian now. You're gonna get to know the meaning of safety now."  
Mulan reflected for a moment, then reached for her father's crutch, stood up and headed for the Ancestors' Temple leaving a dazzled lion behind.

"What's going on here?" She asked into the silence.

_Nothing. _

She then closed her eyes and lowered her head. _Calm yourself._  
"Chester is a great guardian," she started.  
And then, she looked back out of the temple.  
"But I wouldn't want any other guardian," she couldn't find him anymore  
"…than my best friend."  
The last part came out rather helpless.

"I'm quite sorry for you, Mulan," Chester began as he walked in, "but these are the rules."  
The young woman glared down at him.  
"Tell them, I never cared for rules."

The Great Ancestor's face remained stern. Fa Zhou though shook his head in defeat, floating over to the big boss.  
"Honorable..." he peeked at the tombstone, "Fa Lao."  
Zhou got his attention.  
"Can't you make an exception? My daughter already suffered enough losses lately."

The lion barely listened to the discussion in the background as he was watching Mulan, brokenly bowing down in humble defeat. Giving an inward sigh the creature stiffened and straightened up.  
"Sir," he declared turning around to face the eldest Ancestor, "I think it's obvious."  
The temple fell silent for a moment.  
"She's not happy," the midget-lion then explained seeing as the Great Ancestor either didn't understand or didn't want to understand.  
"This young warrior endured all of this because," Chester hesitated a moment, contemplating whether or not he should go on, "because she did not want to lose this dragon." The following words sounded broken and choked, "I refuse to be her guardian if she can't consider herself lucky."  
The lion shook down. If it was a humble gesture or just his legs giving in couldn't be recognized.  
The elder closed his soulful eyes.  
"This is your golden opportunity," the ghost insisted trying to win Chester over, but actually only intended to stay rid of the dragon.  
It took Chester a moment to spot Mulan beside him. She seemed to have calmed down, but was still pinned to the floor, disallowing anyone to see her eyes. And out of the corner of his own, the lion could have sworn to see the little dragon standing in the doorframe. He turned around again, taking in his most graceful sitting-pose and glanced up at the Ancestor confidently.  
"I cling no less to Mulan, than her former guardian, your honor. I reject the guardianship and will stay with Shang."  
"If this is your wish…" the ghost hollered and the lion turned around to spot the doorframe, but Mushu was gone.

A thump distracted the moment as a batch of snow fell from the Ancestor Temple's roof. Fa Zhou turned to spot the outside of the window. Sunlight was breaking through and almost blinded him.  
"Don't cry," a familiar voice said and when Chester turned around again he could see Mushu standing on the entrance's brink. He was holding the frozen bud of a magnolia blossom that rather looked as if it was captured in glass.

"It's blooming," the dragon indicated as he walked over to his little girl and in his natural warm hands the ice melted away.  
The girl's breath relaxed at the sound of his voice and for the first time, she looked up from the floor, trembling as she spotted him. The guardian smiled wearily as he placed the first spring flower in her ebony hair and gave her arm a tight hug.  
"Some greetings from your Dad."

Life was a gift. He would always remember that.

A shadow shifted itself in a nearby tree.

_***_

_JBG – Autumn 2005 – March 2009_

_by levy120_

_Beta by Bao Li Na and Nori_


End file.
